Daring, Nerve, and Chivalry
by Unsuspected
Summary: Gryffindor, you can't be a coward, now can you? Don't you know, you've got to be brave. A collection of drabbles focusing on various students from Gryffindor House.
1. Minerva McGonagall

Riddle was, of course, well known throughout Hogwarts, favorite of many teachers and students, hated by few. Something about that smile wasn't quite sincere; something about that politeness was forced.

But no one said a thing, because you just didn't talk that way about _Tom Riddle_.

And one year he came back, and he seemed a bit less likable, the smile a bit less sincere, politeness a bit more forced. Only a few people said something, because you still shouldn't talk about _him_ like that.

Minerva did. Because she was a Gryffindor, wasn't she, and she had to be _bold_.

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><p><strong>AN: Did I abuse the italics a bit too much? Hm... Well, this is only sort of kind of focused on McGonagall, but I wanted to do it about Tom, because it seemed like something that would highlight her bravery. The others I'll be writing don't have the same situation, going to school with him, having classes with him, and I think that's a very interesting scenario. Did I still do well with this? I don't really know, but I do feel it's the best I can do with McGonagall.<strong>


	2. Harry Potter

He was going to die. He was leaving them now…leaving them to fight on their own, the Boy Who Lived finally dead. He was supposed to be _immortal_.

What would they think? Would they keep fighting? Would they know that he had to do this? Would they know he was as scared as they were? (But no, he couldn't be scared. He wasn't in Gryffindor to shrink away from this like a coward.)

Yes, he had to be brave. _Now or never_, as Ron had put it. But he hadn't known it would soon mean— …_He had to be brave._

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><p><strong>AN: Another italic crisis here. I like to emphasize things, don't I? Honestly, both italics and repetition for that last one, quite the emphasis. Anyway, even though (in my opinion) Rowling did a wonderful job with this scene, I think that going with the intention to die is one of the bravest things Harry has done, so I had to write it. ...And watch as everything I wrote is either exactly like the book or totally contradicts the book. Sorry if that's the case. I really didn't mean to obviously.<strong>


	3. Hermione Granger

The troll had done what civilized conversation could not: They were friends.

While Hermione was glad to have friends, she couldn't help but feel both annoyed and intimidated by all this _trouble_.

But then again, it was intriguing, this Nicolas Flamel business, with a thousand more facts to be learned.

And a thousand more adventures to have. She had to admit, she was a bit scared. But they were her _friends, _and it didn't matter if she was scared, because the troll scared her, but they were safe now. So she'd be brave, as long as she didn't get expelled.

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><p><strong>AN: I originally had about two hundred words, because I had a lot to say, so editing was absolutely torturous. I really wanted to keep the last bit, so I was getting rid of lines I liked, but weren't necessary to the actual drabble. So, I'm really hoping it still turned out.<strong>


	4. Ron Weasley

There's a bit of him that's relieved, and a bit of him that's upset when the Sorting Hat cries, "GRYFFINDOR!" because it's the House he'd hoped for, but it proves that he really isn't different from the rest of his family. He's so ordinary, so unspectacular that he can't even stray from the Gryffindor tradition. How pathetic.

But just because he isn't as special as the others doesn't mean he can't be that heroic Gryffindor the Hat says he is. And just because he's not clever or good at Quidditch or special _at all_ doesn't mean he can't be courageous.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I'm going to have a group of people angry with me either way, so I might as well have the group be rightfully angry with me. Allow me to state that I don't hate Ron. The reason it's repeatedly stating that he is so very plain is that it's from Ron's perspective. He's very insecure, I think, and I wanted to show that it my writing, you know? Hopefully I succeeded in that...<strong>


	5. Neville Longbottom

He wasn't as good as his parents. He would never be as brave, talented, famous, or strong. And Gran was sure to remind him of it every chance she got.

Sure as Trevor liked escaping his grasp, Neville wasn't his father. Neville was clumsy, forgetful Neville, and his father was courageous, brilliant Frank.

And sure as he'd fail Potions, Neville wasn't his mother either. He was bullied, scared Neville, and she was well-liked, strong Alice.

But sure as the adult mandrake's cry is fatal, Neville was put into Gryffindor. And the Sorting Hat had never yet been wrong, had it?

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Some more low-self-esteem Gryffindors for you. When I wrote out who I'd write and what about, it didn't seem quite as similar. Hopefully this didn't seem too repetitive.<strong>


	6. Ginny Weasley

And she was a "GRYFFINDOR!" from the moment that Hat touched her vibrant hair. She was a Weasley, wasn't she? So she _had_ to be one.

She certainly wasn't there because scarlet compliments her hair, though. She was there because the Hat saw courage in her.

But how did courage serve her when she had paint and blood dripping from her robes and smeared on her hands? And _what_ would Harry Potter think of her?

But maybe if she said something... Maybe if it was just that scared whisper, not the lion's roar, she thought, everything could still be okay.

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><p><strong>AN: If I'm remembering correctly, Ginny did <em>try<em> to tell the others what she suspected during _Chamber of Secrets_, but didn't end up doing so because Percy interrupted them, and said that it was nothing (assuming she was referring to finding him with Penelope). Is that correct? Well, in this drabble it is...**


	7. Dennis Creevey

Nothing was real until it was Colin. Magic, and moving pictures, and flying broomsticks were for storybooks until Colin got the letter.

And Death wasn't real until Colin died. It was just there, waiting silently and patiently until it was finally his turn. Until it was Colin. Death made a racket then in snatching up people (like Colin), whose turn it was not. Death was real.

Bravery was just for knights until Colin was brave. Dennis was brave then, too because he was a Gryffindor; he had to be, even if Colin was gone, and Death was so cruelly real.

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><p><strong>AN: I'm sure that plenty of people will be unhappy with my choice. I could have done Lily or James or Dumbledore or Sirius or Remus or Colin or Dean or Seamus or Fred or George or Percy or Molly or Arthur or Bill or Charlie or Romlida or Katie or Oliver or Demelza or loads of other people. But I chose Dennis. Plain, boring Dennis Creevey. Because he needed to have just as much bravery to get through his Colin's death as Colin had risking his life. Despite my, well, interesting choice, I hope I did well.<strong>


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